Animal rights fanatics 'have stepped up campaign'

EVIDENCE of escalating intimidation and violence by animal rights extremists is revealed today by medical researchers.

New figures showed there were 46 instances of damage to personal, company and public property between January and March - more than double the number in the first quarter of 2003. They included 34 attacks on vehicles, 30 of them involving corrosive fluid.

There were also 32 visits to the homes of company directors, compared with ten in the same period last year, according to figures from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

The number of phone, fax, or e-mail "blockades" by animal rights activists has gone up to 24 from seven in the first quarter of 2003.

In March, the extremists were hit by a wave of arrests, especially in Surrey and Lancashire. This appeared to have put a brake on the number of attacks and home visits after a period of accelerated activity over the previous two months.

An ABPI spokesman said: "Pouring corrosive fluid, like brake fluid or paint stripper, on vehicles, and spraying graffiti on homes and roadways seem to be the favourite forms of attack for these criminals.

"The arrests may have helped to reduce attacks, as can be seen in the March figures, but none of these cases has yet led to a conviction."

In some cases, the tactics of the fanatics had paid off. A total of 22 companies had severed their links with animal research providers in the first three months of the year.

And members of one family of guinea pig breeders had effectively been barred from their local pub because of fears of trouble from animal rights activists.

Dr Mark Matfield, a spokesman for the new group Victims of Animal Rights Extremism (VARE), said: "We’ve known for some time that the situation generally is getting worse, and these figures confirm that.

"It’s only the isolated big incidents that get publicity, but there are a lot of people literally living in terror."

He added that only much tougher penalties would solve the problem: "I’ve been watching animal rights extremists and their activities for 15 years now, and what I’ve seen is that a slap on the wrist doesn’t deter them.

"They regard a few months inside almost as a badge of honour. The only thing that actually works is longer sentences of four years or more."

Generally, those found guilty of acts of criminal damage could expect to receive community service orders, suspended sentences or a two- or three-month spell in prison.

VARE is campaigning for a new Animal Rights Extremism Act, to target animal fanatics in the same way that other laws deal with racists and football hooligans.